


Cholera Strikes

by RealityXIllusion



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: 1800's, Angst, Anne knows stuff, Barnum has a blackhole of issues, Cholera, Circus, Circus as family, Crying, Dehydration, F/M, Fever, Gen, Hints of abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Insecurity, Lettie is a mother-hen, Nausea, Other, P. T. Barnum Whump, P.T Barnum doesn't know he is loved, P.T Barnum needs a hug, Phillip worries, Protective P. T. Barnum, Protective Phillip Carlyle, Sick!Barnum, Sick!P.T, Vomiting, W.D Worries, cursing, everyone worries, hints of past abandonment, necessary OC - Freeform, others are mentioned - Freeform, people dying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:05:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: Cholera was a illness which they had all heard about but had not given much thought to given other pressing matters. However when one of their own get sick, they're all forced to face the facts that they may lose him once again.ORP.T Barnum catches Cholera and doesn't want the others to get sick.





	Cholera Strikes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheresaM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheresaM/gifts).



> Hey so this story was a request from TheresaM. Asking for a story where Barnum gets sick with Cholera, It's taking me a while to get this story completed, mainly due to how busy I've been and because I ended up having to much of a plot idea and created multiple chapters.  
> I felt bad for making you wait so here's part of what I have so far!

Getting sick was something that everyone wished to avoid, not only because of the risks it carried but for the expenses it came with as well. Barnum personally had a great dislike towards illnesses not only because it had taken both his parents from him at different points in time but because he now had much more people he cared for that could be taken from him. 

Barnum was well aware of a illness attacking the people of America, the majority of people infected had to have been those in New York City and many were blaming immigrants for this disease. He also knew that no one really had an idea how one would catch this illness or how to beat it. It was said that one in ten people would become infected if not more, with a majority percentage chance of death being the final outcome. Just the thought of this illness spreading made Barnum feel nauseous.  


Here in Connecticut close to seventy people have been identified as victims of Cholera with forty-two of them dying within hours of getting sick. Barnum was a cautious man by nature but with this sickness going around he made sure to warn everyone at the Circus and his family to be careful and the moment any of them felt ill Barnum told them that they needed to go see a doctor. Though Barnum knew that all of them would want to avoid seeing a doctor since they’d only just managed to buy a plot of land and aquire large enough tents with their budget to reopen the Circus to the world again. Even with Phillip giving his share of profits in order to get the Circus running again it still took almost two months before they could officially start having shows once again. Not to mention they were all still treated poorly by everyone else because of their differences. 

In those two months the bank had forced Barnum, Charity and the girls out of their large home and it took a lot of sweet talking from Barnum for him to get them their old apartment back until he could save up enough money to get them another house. Perhaps the same one since the girls loved it so much, even Charity though she thought it was too large for just the four of them. Barnum couldn’t recall the last time Charity had smiled at him so brightly after the Jenny Lind incident except in that very moment when he told her it wasn’t just the four of them anymore as he reminded her of everyone at the Circus who had each ended up joining their little family. The apartment was small, where the girls had to share a room with one another, but the highlight was that they had their roof back, Barnum remembered clearly all the good memories he had on that roof either with Charity, the girls or all of them.

He was so worried about what he would do if any of the others got sick that he didn’t even account for the chance of him getting Cholera. At first when he started feeling ill it was just feelings of nausea and cramps in his sides, after about two days he started getting up at all hours of the night to run to the restroom. Barnum assumed this was because he had eaten at a old, broken down bar that he hadn’t gone to before. The food and drinks were delicious if not a bit odd tasting, but Barnum didn’t think anything of it at the time. 

He had warned everyone to be careful yet he wasn’t careful enough himself. 

On the third night after making excuses to himself, Barnum found that he had to admit that he was sick after finally giving into his bodies urges to vomit, something he truly hated. He managed to battle his nausea the past two days but after sitting throughout dinner with his three favorite girls in the world earlier today, he found himself sitting on the toilet with a trashcan cradled to his chest as his body proceeded to rid itself of what little food he consumed in two separate but still quite painful ways. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he left Charity and their bed, but he knew she would wake up soon if he didn’t return. Barnum longed to lay down next to his beautiful wife and rest his exhausted body but he knew that if he really was sick then there was no way he’d be willing to risk his wife or his kids health just to find himself some bit of comfort. 

Getting off the toilet was a task worthy of five nights sleep in Barnum’s opinion. His legs were shaking under his weight and the bathroom spun the moment he stood up. Gritting his teeth, Barnum shut his eyes in an attempt to fight off the headache he could feel forming as he reached down, cleaned himself, and pulled his pants back up.

Huffing under his breath once he finally managed to leave the bathroom, Barnum slowly walked over towards his desk area of their small apartment. He frowned when he noticed where water had leaked through the ceiling onto some of his papers but the matter of finding a blank piece of paper that wasn’t wet was easy enough.  


On the paper, Barnum hastily scrawled

‘My darling Charity, I’m afraid I am feeling a bit ill at the moment and I am taking my leave until I am well. I shall return, but yours and the girls health is my main concern. I love you all. Please do not worry, be safe and careful of any illnesses. With love, Phineas.’  
Panting from exertion, Barnum quietly walked back towards his and Charity’s room. She was curled up underneath their covers with her back to Barnum’s side of the bed. No matter what pain he felt in that moment, Barnum couldn’t help but smile as he laid his eyes on his precious wife’s face.  


She always looked so peaceful and content, which was one of the reasons why he loved waking up with her in his arms. It was also the final push he needed to get out of their apartment before he contaminated it any longer.

Slipping his note onto his pillow by Charity’s head, Barnum softly caressed his hand down the side of her face, he would’ve kissed her but if he truly was ill then he did not want to risk it. With one last glance at Charity and a sneak peek in at his girls, Barnum silently left the apartment, with no one even realizing he was gone. Nor would they realize it as Charity assumed he’d left early in the morning for work until she set about re-making their bed and saw his note. 

Afterwards, Charity wasted no time in getting the girls to school before rushing towards the Circus to look for her husband and if he was not there then she was intent on leaving the girls with Lettie once school let out to go find him herself. 

She almost lost him once, she wasn’t going to lose him again.

Charity rushed into the Circus tent, bodily moving anyone who was in her way as they were obviously about to head towards the stands for a show tonight. Charity knew she needed to find her husband or even Phillip before the show started. 

She rushed around the entire tent, even searching out by the stands but by the time she managed to find Phillip he was already standing out in the middle of the stadium with the other performers as the show began. 

A couple of miles from the circus in a run down motel that has barely seen the light of day, one Phineas T. Barnum resided in one of its rooms. 

“Sir?” Barnum slowly lifted his head off the motel bed and saw a young woman standing in the doorway, staring at him anxiously. 

“Sir?”

Barnum blinked owlishly as the woman entered and walked towards him.

“Sir, you’ve been asleep on top of the covers for almost six hours….” The woman’s eyes widened, “Not that I’ve been watching you! I was told to clean your room, it’s the last one left to do, but when I first came in you...you seemed out of it.” The women looked down at the ground before glancing back up at Barnum, “You said to come back later, well it’s been six hours now….”

“Oh..” Barnum mumbled, attempting to clear his throat once he heard how awful he sounded, “My apologies Miss.” Only to fall into a coughing fit which left him feeling parched. 

“Should...should I call a doctor?” 

“No!” Barnum yelled, only to snap his jaw shut when he realized he had scared the maid, “I...I’m fine. Really I am, sorry for yelling. I-”

“Sir, I think you’re sick.” She stood up straight, “M-My pa was sick, he looked like you too. Pale and out of it. You look like you’re about to keel over too….” She looked down and shuffled around aimlessly, “W-Would you mind...telling me how you’re feeling? M-Maybe I could help? S-Since you don’t want a doctor here….”

“I…” Barnum sighed and flopped his head down on the motel room pillow, “J-Just some nausea...uh...I can’t really keep anything in, food or drinks.”

“Keep anything in?” The woman blinked, tilting her head before realization struck, “You mean...bathroom wise? Y-You would’ve said keep anything down if you meant throwing up…”

Barnum couldn’t help but cover his face with his hands as he flushed with embarrassment, the current topic was not something he was keen on discussing with a young woman whom he didn’t even know the name of. 

“Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself! My name is Jessie.” The woman-Jessie, quickly introduced staring at Barnum with a frown on her face, “Sir? When was the last time you drank something?”

Barnum struggled to push himself into a sitting position, a position which he regretted as the moment he sat up it felt as though he’d been someone’s punching bag. 

Hissing, Barnum wrapped an arm around his middle hoping some pressure could alieve the pain. 

Jessie rushed towards him but froze inches away, unsure what to do. Barnum quickly waved her off, hoping she would leave the room. He knew he was sick and he didn’t want to cause anyone else to get sick as well. 

Jessie’s face looked panicked as she looked Barnum over, “Sir? Y-You’re having...bathroom issues right? And I’m assuming your abdomen hurts? Can you tell me what else? Please Sir, this is important.” 

“....” Barnum scowled and looked away from Jessie’s penetrating stare, “...my mouth is dry too, I’m thirsty I guess? I don’t think I’ll be able to keep anything down even if I tried some water.”

Jessie frowned thoughtfully, “You’ve been exhausted too? Do you have a fever?”

Barnum shrugged, “No?”

“Sir, remember I mentioned my Papa was sick? He was sick like you are now…” Jessie said turning towards the door, “I’ll be right back alright? Don’t go anywhere, I’m going to help ya.” Jessie nodded determinedly and left the room before Barnum could say a word. 

Panting slightly, Barnum fell back and turned onto his side, curling with his knees to his chest and his arm still wrapped around his middle. He felt so tired that Barnum couldn’t be bothered trying to get up as he felt the familiar feel of bile rising up in his throat. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to make it to the bathroom in time, Barnum shifted so his head was closer to the side of the bed and vomited what little was left in his stomach. 

Groaning once he was finished dry heaving, Barnum buried his head into his arms and tried to ignore the smells surrounding him. 

Elsewhere as Barnum fitfully fell into a deep sleep and Jessie had hurried home; one Phillip Carlyle was pacing throughout his and Barnum’s office as Charity finished explaining what had happened earlier in the morning with her finding Barnum missing and his note. Phillip had to get Anne to escort Charity back to her home and the both of them agreed to leave after Phillip swore to find Barnum. 

Phillip knew he wouldn’t be able to find Barnum all on his own so he had filled Letty, Tom and W.D in on what was going on; they were just as shocked as he was to learn Barnum was sick and had left. Phillip hoped with more people searching they’d be able to find Barnum as soon as possible. 

Hopefully they wouldn’t be too late. 

It took the better part of three hours before Tom managed to overhear a couple of townsfolk gossiping about how they’d seen Barnum stumbling around town in the wee hours of the day. Tom wasted no time in demanding the men tell him where they’d seen Barnum but they took one look at Tom and started laughing at him and mocking him for being “..the freak,” he was.

The combined forces of Letty, W.D and Phillip surrounding the men had the desired effect of causing enough unease or tension to form that one of the men wilted under their glares and told them how he had seen Barnum walking down the street as though he couldn’t hold himself up and seemed as though he was heading towards one of the motels down the street. 

The thought of Barnum being unable to hold himself up and wandering the streets alone filled the groups stomach with lead. Hearing Charity say that Barnum was ill, Phillip wanted to laugh at the irony that it was him who had gotten sick when he was the one intent on keeping the others from getting sick. 

“There’s three motels down the next two streets, how do we know which one he’s at?” Tom asked as they walked away from the men and partially down the street they said Barnum had walked down. 

Phillip pressed his lips together tightly and closed his eyes briefly before answering Tom, “Well...Letty, you and Tom could go check the registry of one, WD you get the second motel and I’ll go check the third?” 

WD nodded, “Alright, then we all meet back up here. Whoever doesn’t meet up we’ll assume they found Barnum and head to that motel.”

Tom looked at Letty and they both grinned, “Sounds good to us.”

Without sparing another second with one another, they all took off running towards the motels, all dreading what they may find, but at the same time hoping they’d find Barnum soon. 

Before it was too late.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this isn't what you had expected when you requested Barnum have Cholera!!!


End file.
